The Delaware City news. (Delaware City, Del.) 188?-18??, 1887-07-09
500 A YEAR
THE @VoWS OF LUDWIG.'
TRAGIC ENDING OF A STRANGE MA
MA OF BAvARlAN MAIDENS.

Two Young Bnronesses Commit snioide
at the Very spot Where tee Mad King
drowned Himssif--Tistory Of Pecu-
liar Mania.
A curious feminine mania is called to
mind by the recent tragic news from Mu-
mich. Two young ladies Of that city
baronesses--have committed suicide by
drowning in the Starnberg lake, at the
very spot where the mad King Louis
drowned himself last year. The llames
OF I'll se ladies are familiar ia all who
have been admitted to the best Munich
society. They were sisters, aged 23 and
~, aid were famed for their beauty.
Their family is a very noble and wealthy
one. The mania to which they fell vic
Tins Lad its origin fifteen or sixteen years
ago. The young king, was then at the
height Of his romantic fame. His ideally
handsome likeness was to be seen every
where, and everywhere you heard talk OF
his poetic melancholy his romantic spirit,
and his confirmed celibacy Naturally he
became an object of intense interest to
sentimental young ladies.
SILLY TALE.
Presently, among the other absurd tales
that were told Of him, there went abroad
the story that he spelzt most OF his tin1e
in wandering about bis kingdom in dis
guise, He haunted shady lanes and ro-
mantle spots, seeking for some fair maiden
who should be his chosen bride. Well.
this silly tale was believed and set thou.
sands of hearts to huttering. Each nader
wondered If she would be his choice il he
CHANGED to meet her under the lime trees
And she hesitated to plight her troth to
her village lover until she should have had
a chance to meet the king.
So it came to pass that in the village Of
Bertoldshofen, in the romantic mountain
region of southern Bavaria, the maidens
formed themselves into sort of sister
hood. They pledged themselves to each
other not to marry until they were sure
the king had passed them by. Each was
to wear his likeness constantly near her
bosom, and each was to choose for herself
a secret bower where at eventide she
should await his coming. A more silly
scheme, probably, never was devised
Hrtt 6 6Ili 81 M alle sicli a
maidens entered intoit with the ze,l aiifl gls-
yotion Of nuns. The ffiheof ais sisterhood,
spread to other villages, to towns, and
cites-nay, to Munich itself Rustic
wenches and the petted beauties Of princely
Within year not less than 1000 young
women, all through Bavaria, had taken
upon themselves the '.yows Of Ludwig''
and were waiting for their king.
FREED FROM THEIR VOWS
In time many of these girls imagined
they had been seen and passed by by the
king, and, thus freed from their VOWS, ac-
! cepted humber husbands. Others grew
| tfra1 Of uraitfpar aud l,4ola fhait. xyoura
| Still others waited and waited in vain,
! until al other suitors had passed them by;
and they axe waiting still and will be
waiting all their lives. But as the ranks
Of the original sisterhoods were. thinned
new recruits were added, and ''the brides
I Of Ludwig were sin ooiint0t. " tn3u-
sands. 1t is estimated that there were no
less than 1000 of them at the time OF hia
suicide. When the news Of that tragedy
became known they forthwith put on
mourning and called themselves ''the wild
ows Of Ludwig Many Of them took sol
emn vows of life long celibacy, as token
of faithfulness to his memory
Among these latter two of the most de-
voted were the young baronesses of Mu-
mich to whom we have referred. They
constantly wore the deepest mourning,
secluded themselves from all social pleas
ures, and drove themselves into confirmed
melancholy. Every week they went to
Starnberg and threw garlands Of flowers
into the water at the very spot where the
king was drowned. Finally they deter
mined to share his fate. They arrayed
themselves as brides, even to donning
wells and orange blossoms, rowed out into
the lake to the spot where he was drowned,
and threw themselves into the water.
Their bodies were found next day, clasped
in each others arms, and witbS jortraita
Of the mad king next their hearts.-paris
ca Chicago Tribune.